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Saturday, April 2, 2011

Day 11 "favorite sci-fi horror" of the 30 day horror challenge

Favorite sci-fi horror movie? Hmmmm...... I bet we're going to see a ton of people pick either Alien or Aliens. While, I think both films are just awesome, they are not my top pick. There's also films like The Thing, Moon or Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Very respectable efforts, but yet again not my favorites. All very worthy horror picks if you ask me. My vote goes to a film that tried to break the mold and do something distinctive. This was a film that initially went ignored, but thankfully over the years it has gained a cult following. So without further hesitation, I give you........
Hardware was the last of the post-nuke films to get a theatrical release. Audiences didn't get it. Critics were all over the place on their feelings for the film. As a result, the film flopped at the box office and the post-nuke genre died down after soaring with films like Mad Max and The Running Man. Hardware takes place during the Christmas season in the post-nuke future, as a scavenger (Dylan McDermott) presents his artist girlfriend (Stacy Travis) with some robot parts. After a passionate night together, the robot reassembles itself to continue on with its life mission--population control.

I was lucky enough to catch this back when it was released in theaters. I was only 8 or 9 at the time, but it was a breathtaking experience for me. The visual aesthetic of the film captivated me. The film's pulsating techno score by Simon Boswell added to the excitement of the film's on-screen carnage and gore (which had to be trimmed to avoid an X rating). A death sequence about two thirds into the film added which certainly shocking.

As I got older, I was able to appreciate to an even greater degree that Hardware was one film that didn't play by genre rules and was willing to take chances. From director Richard Stanley's claustrophobic, voyeuristic atmosphere. To his willingness to try out experimental camera angles and to commit to one of the bleakest portraits of the future ever portrayed on screen. The colorful supporting cast included the likes of character actors John Lynch and William Hootkins, mixed with musicans like Iggy Pop, Carl McCoy of the goth band Fields of Nephilim, and Lemmy of Motorhead. The use of religious iconography and references contrasted against the film's strong use of sexuality and violence gives it a bit of a sense of irony.

Hardware went pretty much ignored during the '90s, but luckily for us, the film gained a cult following over the years and went on to receive both a DVD and Blu-Ray release.

So which film would you have picked? ....to take part, the rules are below, or you can check out the Facebook fan page and interact with everyone else that's taking part by visiting:

Or feel free to start your own blog posts on your site! (You can start on day one or you can feel free to join me on day we are currently at). Or just feel free to leave us a little comment so we know which film made the cut for you! The rules are simple, just pick your favorite horror film for each day! However, you can't pick the same horror film more then once. So once you pick say The Exorcist for your favorite horror film involving the powers of Hell, you can't repick it again for any other day what so ever including favorite horror film. And for once, I am opening up the comments section so that, yes, you can comment each day along with me on your favorite picks! So let's get to it! This is the 30 Day Horror Film Challenge!
Day 01 - A horror film that no one would expect you to love, but you do
Day 02 - The horror film that you relate most to
Day 03 - Your favorite slasher
Day 04 - Your favorite werewolf film
Day 05 - Your favorite monster movie
Day 06 - Your favorite vampire movie
Day 07 - Your favorite supernatural horror film
Day 08 - Your favorite anthology
Day 09 - Your favorite exploitation / grind house type film
Day 10 - Your favorite psychological horror film
Day 11 - Your favorite science fiction horror film
Day 12 - Your favorite horror film involving the occult
Day 13 - Your favorite horror comedy
Day 14 - Your favorite zombie film
Day 15 - Your favorite horror film involving serial killers
Day 16 - Your favorite childhood themed horror film
Day 17 - Your favorite horror film remake
Day 18 - Your favorite foreign horror film (outside of your country of origin) Day 19 - Your favorite horror film involving the powers of Hell or Satanism
Day 20 - Your favorite horror film involving a killer animal
Day 21 - Your favorite medical horror film
Day 22 - Your favorite horror themed TV show
Day 23 - Your favorite made for TV horror film
Day 24 - Horror film in which you prefer the edited version over the director's cut
Day 25 - A horror film that you used to hate, but now like
Day 26 - Your favorite horror film to watch as a child
Day 27 - Your favorite guilty pleasure
Day 28 - Your favorite horror film that no one's ever heard of
Day 29 - Your least favorite horror film of all time
Day 30 - Your favorite horror film of all time

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